During our seperation/divorce there are two things that have made me laugh, on being a picture frame which holds 5 photos of my family, as in my dad, my Grandmother, my mum, one of ex and I cutting the wedding cake and one of our kids and a neighbours kid one haloween. Then ex just asked for a half used container of black shoe polish.....

The patio table and umbrella - that are bigger than his "yard." Literally - they will not physically fit within the space. He has them stored in his garage. Meanwhile the kids and I have a huge yard and pool and could really use the nice furniture instead of the dumpster treasures - repaired with duct tape - that are past their expiration date.

(Don't get the impression poor EX is suffering in a tiny space while I have a grand mansion. I am living rent free in a home my parents own so the kids can be in good schools - otherwise I have no idea how I could make ends meet. EX bought a very large and expensive townhouse to rattle around in.)

When XH left, he pretty much only took personal items (clothes and some memorabilia...diplomas, high school stuff). He left all household items, all wedding gifts, any gifts my family or I ever gave to him.

But then a couple of months later, he insisted he wanted his tools. Which I thought was hysterical since he spent the majority of our relationship on the couch watching TV or surfing the internet. And it's not like they were high-end or a matching set or anything.

More humorous, he's been without a stable place to stay for over two years now. What "home improvement / repair" projects could he possibly be doing ?!?

Mom to DD (04.21.13) DS (8 years old) and DSD (10 years old) and 2 and 2

He kept pretty much everything. I took half of the kitchen stuff, and according to the kids, he was really mad that I took the can opener. Not a fancy one, just a regular old metal and plastic can opener. Um...you can buy one for like, a dollar. Really? That's what you want to throw a fit about? He got to keep my beautiful, $200 pressure cooker that he will NEVER use in a million years, and he's mad about a cheap-o can opener.

On the other hand, he got to keep our 6 metal vintage patio chairs, and when I asked for two of them back (the two that MY dad gave to me) he refused to let me have them.

Chloema, mine stole their Christmas and Bday presents from his side of the family for years. We thought they'd written off the kids when he left, but it turned out he told them I had said I would press charges if there was any contact of any kind. They sent money and gifts to him for the kids for like 7 yrs before thing got straightened out! He would keep the money or items he liked, then return or sell the rest. I guess they even thought they were paying for a bunch of the kids' activities too. He figured since they were sending him a few hundred a month for the kids, and the court was pulling $73 per week (on weeks he actually worked) out of his checks... he could honestly say he had passed the money on to me to cover costs? *eyeroll* The turning point was one year his new wife's family was over to celebrate and found all those gifts. He was so wasted he had no idea what was going on, so the kids opened all the gifts and were sent home with them. The next day he tried to convince me all those clothes and games and whatnots (he had a HUGE family, so think a giant garbage bag of expensive gifts for each kid) were meant for his newborn! lol What was his newborn son was going to do with a Tinkerbell ski jacket a size too big for my 6yr old?